The Road to Democracy in Egypt

Let’s go back to July 2011. Time and again, thousands of protesters have filled the Tahrir Square in Cairo. The protesters are not here to demand the downfall of a certain regime. They are here because of a promise that of a looming revolution, and the said revolution did not bear desirable fruits. The demonstrators gathered here to press the military to keep its word and bring in a revolution that would assure them of authentic democracy. The democracy that they sought for also included the conduction of a free and fair election, even though this was a hard nut to crack. The other issues that the mob wanted was justice for the people who had been killed and victimized by security personnel during the time of the revolution, transparency in military governance on the road to a democratic state, and accountability in the Mubarak regime since it had committed heinous economic and legal crimes. Some people in Egypt feared that the gains from the revolution could slip away and there was also the danger of a crumbling political force. Their concerns were genuine.

The Judicial process’ failures

Most of the Egyptians held the view that the judicial process was not functioning. It had failed to address the issues raised by the citizens pertaining to the abuse that they had received from the Mubarak regime.

By 2011, the justice system had managed to convict one police officer (in absentia) of terminating the life of a demonstrator. Who killed the other 849 demonstrators since the revolution saw the death of 850 persons? The courts in Egypt postponed putting on trial the senior officials of the Mubarak regime while other security personnel were freed on bail.

Where was the justice system in Egypt? A demonstrator was beaten to death by a well-connected police officer. The case of this police officer has failed, again with the prosecution side citing inadequate evidence to link the police officer to the murder which led to the final downfall of Hosni Mubarak. Even though the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces which is ruling Egypt has failed to try the military and security personnel, the same regime is on record for subjecting over 7000 civilians to trial since the time Mubarak resigned. It is this violation of the rights of citizens and failure to adhere to the rule of law that led to more demonstrations in 2011 where over 1,000 protesters sustained bad injuries.

Fast forward to 2015. This is termed by many as the second revolution. There are people who could not be content with the status quo since the nation could be headed to a downfall, never to recover again. The senior citizens and the elites will have a place to run to, but what of the youths who are the majority in the nation? Even with the reintroduced turbulence, it is time that the country had a turning point. It is a fact that the conflicting movements are at constant loggerheads over who will form the coming government. However, it is a sure thing that the future generation has to be taken care of as well as international relations with the Middle East.

The country was headed to the polls for the first time in three years. Since the dissolution of the main chamber in 2012, Egypt had not had a parliament. The previous parliament was mainly dominated by the prohibited Muslim Brotherhood which was being commanded by Mohamed Mursi. This vote was seen as the third and the final step to democracy in Egypt. The first step was when the country adopted a new constitution and the second step was when Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was elected to be president in 2014.

Abdel Fattah urged everyone to go out and vote. He urged all farmers, workers, young and elderly from every corner of the nation to turn up in large numbers to cast their vote.

The elections were conducted a day earlier for those who were lived in foreign countries in order to assure everyone that they would be free and fair. It was widely expected that the parties which were loyal to the president would carry the day.